We think of ourselves as real estate investors. That means we invest in properties, right? Not so fast. It may be properties that we buy, but it’s not properties we actually invest in. In this episode, Jeff explains that the investment we’re making is not in the property, because the property is just the investment vehicle. Rather, the investment is in ourselves and our ability to take a property and make it into a winner. This important reframe can change your perspective on what you’re doing a...
Jan 04, 2024•17 min
There are certain decisions we must make in life and business that we recognize as being big and important decisions, and we allocate much time and energy to them. There are other decisions we must make that seem small and insignificant; in fact, sometimes we don’t even realize they are decisions at all, and to these we allocate very little time and energy. In negotiation, though, the seemingly small decisions can be of large importance, and it’s critical that we give them the thought and consid...
Dec 28, 2023•17 min
Most real estate investors have been taught to focus on numbers, numbers, numbers. And numbers are indeed very important, but numbers without CONTEXT are meaningless. In this episode, Jeff explains the expression “from people come numbers,” and discusses how people are the needed CONTEXT, while numbers are the needed CONTENT. Without understanding the context (people), we can’t possibly negotiate the best and most optimized deals. Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financi...
Dec 21, 2023•18 min
Often times the best way to learn is to hear the real life deal stories from other real estate investors doing great things! In this episode, Jeff interviews The DEALS Workshop and coaching client Pasha, who purchased four off-market duplexes at once, all from the same Seller! Pasha tells the story of how the lead originally started, the hurdles in the negotiation and how he conquered them, how we ultimately financed the acquisition and what he learned along the way! Learn the art of buying prop...
Dec 14, 2023•30 min
There are many different things a real estate investor must know about and be able to do. From deal analysis to understanding construction to having property management knowledge and beyond, there’s a lot to learn and know. But there’s one skill that rises above the others. In this episode, Jeff explains a huge irony for most real estate investors: the desire to seek financial independence through real estate, but the dependence on lenders, appraisers and others in doing so. Jeff shares the #1 m...
Dec 07, 2023•15 min
As buyers of real estate, we wish we could have every great opportunity be competition-free. After all, who wants to compete with other buyers for every great deal? But the truth is, we can’t avoid competition; we can simply choose which type of competition we want to face. In this episode, Jeff explains the different types of competition that come from different types of Sellers, and ultimately shares which type of competition we as Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs should choose to have. Le...
Nov 30, 2023•23 min
When we meet a new Seller lead, our tendency is to immediately begin gathering lots of information. After all, with real estate, there’s a lot of information we need, right? Information on the condition of the property, age of mechanical systems, rents, expenses and more. But while information is important, there’s another thing that’s also equally—if not more—important than information, that we hardly ever speak of: Insights from the Seller. In this episode, Jeff explains what insights are, how...
Nov 23, 2023•23 min
Often times the best way to learn key concepts in real estate are to see and hear them in action in real-life deal case studies! In this episode, Jeff interviews Tom, a coaching client in The DEALS Workshop. Tom shares the case study of how he recently purchased an off-market triplex with Seller Financing, by using a highly relationship-oriented approach to negotiating the deal. Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEA...
Nov 16, 2023•32 min
Many real estate investors have an underlying belief that universally all Sellers would prefer to sell their properties for cash, and that selling via Seller Financing is an inferior backup plan they would only reluctantly agree to. This leads to a belief that if the Seller agrees to Seller Financing, they are doing the Buyer a favor, and would want to be compensated accordingly for that favor. In this episode, Jeff explains that the best Seller Financing deals do not come from Sellers who feel ...
Nov 09, 2023•16 min
“Always be willing to walk away” is fairly standard real estate investing advice. And like with all standard advice, it’s important to examine them so that we can formulate our own philosophies to guide our investing. In this episode, Jeff discusses how “being willing to walk away” is a two-layered conversation: the internal dialog with ourselves, and the external negotiation with the Seller. Jeff discusses the merits of being willing to walk away, but also the merits of showing your sincere com...
Nov 02, 2023•20 min
Conducting due diligence and physical inspections of a property in contract is an important part of the overall real estate investing business. And it can be tempting sometimes to simply do one’s own “inspection,” instead of hiring a professional, licensed home inspector—especially when the buyer has experience in construction and renovation. But in this episode, Jeff explains why it’s important to always pay for an inspection report—and the reason has less to do with inspection findings, and mo...
Oct 26, 2023•14 min
Most real estate investors are open to many different acquisition strategies for finding, negotiating and financing their deals. Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, tend to be more selective, and stick to the acquisition strategies that best fit their talents and gifts. In this episode, Jeff describes why employing different acquisition strategies is like playing completely different sports, and explains how this can hinder an investor’s growth. Learn the art of buying prope...
Oct 19, 2023•11 min
As real estate investors and rental property owners, are tenants our customers? Seems like an obvious question with an obvious ‘yes’ answer, but when we look at it from a different perspective we get a different answer. In this special 200th episode of Racking Up Rentals, Jeff explains why he does NOT see tenants as customers, and instead sees them in a different role. This change of perspective reframes entirely how we see the business of building a rental portfolio. Learn the art of buying pro...
Oct 12, 2023•26 min
The holy grail of relationship-based negotiation and Seller Relations is when your Seller says—or even thinks—“I can tell you’re my kind of people.” In this episode, Jeff tells the story of a coaching client’s recent deal, in which the coaching client got the deal as a result of successfully building rapport and leading the Seller to the natural conclusion that the buyer was “their kind of people.” Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationshi...
Oct 05, 2023•17 min
Many real estate investors have a mentality of “I don’t care where the deals come from as long as they make sense.” These investors are more than happy to buy properties from wholesalers, through real estate agents, or any other source. But as Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we aren’t interested in buying properties negotiated by other people—at all. In this episode, Jeff explains why TREES are so committed to negotiating their own purchases, and discusses the critical differences between ...
Sep 21, 2023•22 min
Real estate investors in today’s market are finding it difficult to buy properties the traditional way. One of the main difficulties they lament is “low inventory.” But is inventory really low? And is “low inventory” even an issue that should affect them? In this episode, Jeff reframes what inventory is, explains why there’s not really low inventory at all and why higher inventory isn’t necessarily better. Most importantly, Jeff explains how you can continue to grow your portfolio regardless of ...
Sep 14, 2023•16 min
As real estate investors, we are growth-oriented creatures. We want to grow our portfolios, wealth and cash flow to achieve financial freedom. But most of us also want to grow as humans as well; fortunately, the two go hand-in-hand. In this episode, Jeff interviews real estate entrepreneur Alexandra Haider, who—in just the first five years of her real estate investing career—has built a portfolio of hundreds of residential units and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial real estate....
Aug 30, 2023•52 min
We’ve all met them: the off-market Sellers who we chat with and immediately have red flags that they are not reasonable. But what exactly defines “unreasonable”? For more real estate investors, an unreasonable Seller is one who has unrealistic expectations for their property’s value. But for us Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, our perspective is different and we define “unreasonable Sellers” differently. In this episode, Jeff explains why those Sellers who most investors would disregard as ...
Aug 25, 2023•20 min
Many real estate investors think that Seller Financing is only beneficial if it results in a tiny—or zero—down payment. In other words, they think that unless they get 90% or higher LTV financing, it’s not worth it. This simply is not true. In this episode, Jeff asks the question: “what if the Seller Financing you could get is only 10% of the total purchase price—would you still do it?” and explains why YES, absolutely you should. Learn the five simply reasons why you should happily get Seller F...
Aug 17, 2023•25 min
Every one of us has unique talents, gifts and strengths. But unfortunately, the real estate investing education industry doesn’t often emphasize the importance of discovering and harnessing those talents in the pursuit of financial freedom through real estate. Instead, mainstream REI education focuses on teaching us supposed universal formulas and recipes for success…with little or no consideration for what our unique individual talents are. In this episode, Jeff discusses the importance and val...
Aug 10, 2023•18 min
It’s no secret that the world of real estate investment education is absolutely vast. From podcasts to books to events to courses and so much more, there is endless information out there. But the most successful investor is not necessarily the one who has amassed the most information and knowledge; it’s the person who has found a single “School of Thought” in real estate and has gone deep in that school of thought. In this episode, Jeff explains the importance of finding and joining a single “Sc...
Jul 27, 2023•15 min
In this special case study episode, Jeff interviews Ryan, a client in The DEALS Workshop. Ryan recently bought his first rental property using the thoughtful approach he learned in The DEALS Workshop, and in this episode he tells the entire story of acquiring this excellent off-market duplex with Seller Financing. Learn to buy Seller Financing properties off-market, the thoughtful way: http://www.thedealsworkshop.com
Jul 13, 2023•24 min
Sometimes, we work with Sellers who are very open to the conversation about selling us their properties, but who may not be sure exactly how to make a decision. This can leave them ambivalent and unsure about how to proceed. In this episode, Jeff describes a simple but powerful two-step framework for helping a Seller to get clarity on their own situations and options, so that they can make the best possible decision. Learn to buy Seller Financing properties off-market, the thoughtful way: http:/...
Jul 06, 2023•17 min
We all know the power of setting goals, declaring the actions we will take—even if they are outside our comfort zone—and then taking those actions to progress towards our goals. But what about the opposite—defining what we WON’T do? It turns out there is great value in setting boundaries that eliminate certain possibilities. In this episode, Jeff explains the value and importance of defining what we WON’T do, and describes the number one most important thing to decide NOT to do. Learn to buy Sel...
Jul 02, 2023•17 min
It’s no secret that if you want to grow a portfolio, buying multifamily rentals can boost your portfolio size, door count and monthly income quickly. In this episode, Jeff interviews multifamily real estate investing legend Rod Khleif. Rod shares his epic journey—including both highs and lows—in real estate investing, explains why he feels we will be facing an economic downturn, discusses the importance of giving, and explains “seller bonding” and how it can be used to buy properties with Seller...
Jun 14, 2023•57 min
At the beginning of a real estate investing journey, there’s a lot of necessary exploration. We are learning and trying out lots of new ideas, approaches, strategies and more. But ultimately, if we want to make meaningful progress in our real estate investing endeavors, we need to settle into an investing approach that we can replicate over and over again—that’s when we get the most traction and make the most progress. In this episode, Jeff shares a seldom-discussed key aspect of finding that sw...
Jun 07, 2023•24 min
Often times, when you use a relationship-oriented approach to buy a property from an off-market Seller with Seller Financing, there’s a good chance that Seller may own more properties they might consider selling you in the future. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Nate and Kyle, clients of The DEALS Workshop, who recently did just that: they bought a second batch of three properties with Seller Financing from their previous Seller! Check out the client case study interview in this episode! Le...
May 23, 2023•25 min
Have you ever heard the expression “Tired Landlord?” This is a common phrase we use to describe what we think are “Motivated Sellers” who own rental properties. These “Tired Landlords” can make excellent Seller candidates for us to buy properties from, but there’s one big risk: we can accidentally make inaccurate assumptions about them and what drives them. In this episode, Jeff breaks down the topic of “Tired Landlords” into three distinctly different sub-classifications of “Tired Landlords,” s...
May 17, 2023•14 min
Ever wondered if there are different ways—beyond rentals—to generate passive income in real estate, and ultimately achieve financial independence? If so, then this episode is for you! In this episode, Jeff interviews Brent Bowers of The Land Sharks, who explains the land investing business model and explains the beautiful, powerful synergies between the cash flow from land investing and the wealth-building power of building a rental portfolio. You’ll learn how Brent and other land investors buy ...
May 03, 2023•38 min
New Seller Financing real estate investors often ask, “what is your acceptance rate of getting Seller Financing proposals accepted and approved by Sellers?” It’s a good question, and the answer involves a critical strategic point: the acceptance rate is entirely dependent on how the prospective buyer approaches the Seller and handles the negotiation. In this episode, Jeff explains the strategy for “diagnosing before you prescribe,” which drastically increases the overall acceptance rate of Selle...
Apr 26, 2023•16 min
